U.S. PPI rises 1.4% in April

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on May 13 that its producer price index for final demand rose 1.4% in April from the prior month, the largest monthly increase since March 2022. (bls.gov) On a 12-month basis, producer prices were up 6.0%, also the highest annual reading since December 2022. The April increase was broad across goods and services. (bls.gov) The Bureau of Labor Statistics said prices for final-demand goods rose 2.0% in April and prices for final-demand services increased 1.2%. More than three-quarters of the increase in goods was tied to a 7.8% jump in energy prices, while about two-thirds of the rise in services came from a 2.7% increase in trade-service margins, which track margins received by wholesalers and retailers. Gasoline was one of the clearest drivers in the goods data. (bls.gov) The Bureau of Labor Statistics said gasoline prices rose 15.6% in April, while diesel fuel increased 12.6% and crude petroleum climbed 11.3%. Lumber rose 7.2%, steel mill products increased 3.8%, and industrial chemicals gained 4.4%. Transportation and distribution costs also moved higher. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said transportation and warehousing services rose 5.0% in April, truck transportation of freight increased 8.1%, and legal services rose 0.9%. (bls.gov) The agency also reported a 0.3% increase in securities brokerage, dealing, investment advice and related services. The producer-price report followed a consumer inflation reading released a day earlier. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said on May 12 that the consumer price index rose 0.6% in April and was up 3.8% from a year earlier, after a 3.3% annual increase in March. (bls.gov) Energy prices rose 17.9% over the 12 months through April, and core consumer inflation, excluding food and energy, was 2.8%. Treasury yields were already elevated before the producer-price report. Federal Reserve data published through the St. (bls.gov) Louis Fed’s FRED database showed the 30-year Treasury constant-maturity yield at 5.03% on May 12, with the series updated on May 13. Bloomberg reported that a $25 billion auction of new 30-year bonds on May 13 was awarded at 5.046%, the first 5% long-bond auction yield since 2007. CME Group’s FedWatch tool said traders use fed funds futures to infer the probability of changes in the Federal Reserve’s target rate, though the public page available on May 14 did not display a specific July 2027 probability in the material reviewed. (bls.gov) CME says such probabilities should be attributed to “CME FedWatch.” June 11 is the next scheduled date for the Bureau of Labor Statistics to publish producer price data, when it will release the May 2026 report at 8:30 a.m. (fred.stlouisfed.org) Eastern time. The Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting is scheduled for June 16-17, according to CME FedWatch’s countdown page. (bls.gov) (cmegroup.com)